Electrical fitting



IVI. F. FINKELSTEIN.

ELECTRICAL FITTING.

APPLmATloN FILED FEB.8,1919.

1,336,290. Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

I/VI/EIVTOR A TTOH/VE VS MORRIS F. FINKELSTEIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRICAL FITTING.

Specification of 'Letters Patent.

Application filed February 8, 1919. Serial No. 275,810.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MORRIS F. F INKEL- STEIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Bronx, in the county of Bronx and State 'of New York, have invented a new and Improved Electrical Fitting, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to electrical fittings and has reference more particularly to a device of this class used for connecting the ends of wire or like conductors.

The object of the invention is to provide an electrical fitting comprising means for connecting the free ends of conductors together with an insulating casing therefor.

The nature and objects of the invention will more fully hereinafter appear.

Reference is tol behad to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specication in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an elec- .trical fitting embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectionall view of the same; 4

Fig. 3 is a housing;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the housing; Fig. 5 is an end view thereof; Fig. 6 is a bottom plan View of the insulating Guard; and

Fig. i The present invention provides an improved housing with the electrical fitting described in Letters Patent of the United States, ANo. 1266441, grantedto me May 14, 1918, and is, furthermore, an improvement upon the de- Vices described in Letters' Patent of the United States, No. 1,103,748 and No. 1,103,- 749, both granted to me July 14, 1914.

The fitting of the present invention includes a connector ycomprising a tubular detail sectional View ofthe body 1 which is generally rectangular incross section and provided with a throughbore 2 to receive a double-ended jaw member or duplex clamp 3. The said clamp is positioned within the tubular body with clamp operating screws 4 and 5 extending through threaded holes in the tubular member to press upon the clamp jaws thereby clamping the free ends of conductors inserted therein as indicated at 6 and 7. This connector is substantially as shown in my aforesaid'Patent No. 1,266,441.

is a plan View of the guard blank.

to be used in connection the material and also due in particular shape of the bend, as indicated at Patented Apr. 6,1920. y'

A guard and non-conducting housing sur rounds the connector and serves to prevent accidental contact with the live wires or any live parts of the fitting. The housing 9 is provided with a throughbore 10 and a parallel channel or recess 11, between which channel and throughbore are openings 12 and 13 to permit access to the screws 4 and 5 of the connector for clamping and releasing the conductor ends. The throughbore of the housing is of suchsize and shape that the connector can be Ainserted therein from one end when the corresponding clamp operating screw is removed therefrom. Said screw may then be inserted through the corresponding opening and the screw then serves as a means to retain the connector in the housing and preventv longitudinal move-` nlent thereof. The device is therefore easilyassembled. Y

A strip of suitable spring material is inserted in the channel or recess in a manner to cover the openings 12 and 13 forming an insulating guard,although permitting convenient access therethrough for operation vof the clamping devices upon occasion. A s shown, a strip of fiber 15 having holes 16 and 17 therethrough registering with the openings 12 and 13 in the housing, is held in place by beingsnapped at its middle between and beneath lugs 18 and 19 on the inner face of the channel walls. The fiber strip is returned upon itself Iat each end, the extreme ends snapping under the same lugs 18 and 19, to retain the end flaps releasably in posi-V either of the clamping screws 4 and 5. The

central portion of the fiber stri is held securely in position and relative y permanently, although it can be removed. The end/ flaps, on the other hand, while held firmly are releasable, due to the spring of part to the 20, the fullness of the bend adding to the flexibility. Access to the-clamp screws for loosening and tightening thereof is thus provided. It is to be noted, however, that the holes 16 and `17 in the central panel of the fiber cover strip are smaller than the clamping screws and, therefore, the stri serves as a retainer for the screws and constitutes means for preventing the accidental removal or jarring out of the screws.

The description of the embodiment illustrated in the drawings is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, as it is obvious that numerous modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

Manifestly, the fiber strip may be snapped into position in various ways, or may otherwise be secured in a recess formed as shown or otherwise, in order to cover such open ings as provide access for operating the clamps.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A device of the character described comprising a connector having binding screws for securing conductor terminals therein; a housing therefor laterally open to afford access to said binding screws; and a guard xedly secured to said housing and providing protective covering for said screws bendable to and from screw-covering position.

2. A device of the character described comprising 'a connector having binder screws for securing conductor terminals therein; a housing therefor laterally open to afford access to said binding screws; and a guard providing a portion secured to said housing and providing movable protective coveringbendable to and from screw-covering position, said housing having means for removably retaining said protective covering in screw-protecting position.

3. A device of the character described comprising a connector, including a binding screw for securing a conductor therein; a housing therefor having a lateral opening to provide access to said binding screw, and a lateral recess overlapping said opening; and a guard secured in said recess and having a portion foldable over said opening. and retained in the recess by its own springiness.

4. A device of the character described comprisingan insulating housing; a connector therein, including binding screws for securing' conductor terminals thereto; and a guard secured to said housing and having a relatively fixed part acting as a screw retainer and a relatively movable part serving as a cover over said screws.

5. A device of the character described comprising an insulating body having a longitudinal channel on the periphery thereof; a connector comprising binder screws in said body; and a guard mounted in said channel having a relatively fixed portion serving to secure the screws within the housing, and having a relatively movable portion adapted in one position to serve as a guard to cover the screws.

6. A device of the character described comprising a connector, including spaced binding screws to secure conductors therein, said screws projecting laterally therefrom; an insulating housing having a through bore receiving said connector, and parallel thereto a laterally open channel with openings 'between the channel and through bore to provide access to said screws; together with a bendable insulating strip having a central portion secured in said channel and end portions bending over the central portion, said housing being provided with means removably to retain the end portions in position, the central portion having holes of a diameter less than the diameter of the binding screws and registering therewith to provide operative access to said screws but to serve as a retaining means therefor.

7. An insulating housing for connectors, having a longitudinal through bore and a channel parallel thereto, with an opening between the through bore and channel to provide access to the connector, and a strip of liber board having a central panel sprung into place in said channel and retained 'therein between lugs upon the opposed walls of the channel and having openings registering with the aforesaid opening and having end cover flaps foldable over vsaid openings and releasably retained in said channel yas and for the purposes set forth.

MORRIS F. FINKELSTEIN. 

